China, HK stocks climb on hopes of fresh US trade talks

SHANGHAI: Stock markets rallied in China and Hong Kong on Thursday and the Chinese yuan firmed after the Trump administration invited Beijing to restart trade talks, offering some hope the two sides could pull back from the brink of a full-blown trade war.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite index ended 1.1 percent higher at 2,686.58 points after closing at its lowest level since January 2016 on Wednesday.